True Crime Friday: William (Bill) Lester Suff, the Riverside Serial Killer
In Southern California there was an unsolved 1986, homicide of a 19-year-old woman. The serial killer who took her life is already on death row said the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office. William Lester Suff, referred to as Bill Suff is an American Serial Killer. Recently, there was a break in the case of an unsolved homicide of Cathy Small. The woman was found and DNA found her killer, Bill Suff.
Suff killed his own child while living in Texas. In 1974, he and his then wife Teryl were send to prison for the crime. However, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the decision regarding Teryl’s involvement. They found insufficient evidence to convict her as either the primary actor or a principal in their baby's murder. In fact, it was found that Suff abuse her during the marriage. Suff was sentenced to 70 years in a Texas prison for killing his two month old daughter. He served only ten years before he was allowed parole in 1984.
The Early Childhood of Bill Suff
Not much is known about Suff’s childhood. Per some of his school mates he was a friendly person and a good musician. Suff began working as a stock clerk for Riverside County where he delivered furniture and other items to the local police stations. This is how he got to know many of the police officers who would frequented the establishment. Suff was described as a mild mannered man who wrote stories and cookbooks. His chili recipes won him first prize at a local chili cook off contest.The Victims of Bill Suff
Suff was working as a warehouse clerk for Riverside County when he was arrested. He was still on parole from the state of Texas.- Rhonda Jetmore 27, Survivor
- Kimberly Lyttle, 28
- Christina Neal, 23
- Darla Jane Ferguson, 23
- Carol Lynn Miller, 35
- Cheryl Coker, 33
- Susan Melissa Sternfeld, 27
- Kathleen Leslie Milne, 42
- Sherry Ann Latham, 37
- Kelly Marie Hammond, 27
- Catherine McDonald, 30
- Delliah Zamora, 35
- Eleanor Casares, 39
- Cathy Small, 19
Suspected Victims of Bill Suff
- Michelle Yvette Gutierrez, 26
- Charlotte Jean Palmer, 25
- Linda Ann Ortega, 37
- Martha Bess Young, 27
- Diane Mae Talavera, 37
- Julie Lynn Angel, 36
- Cherie Michelle Payseur, 24
Lady Justice
On July 19, 1995, a Riverside County jury found Suff guilty of killing 12 women and attempting to kill another, though police suspected him of being responsible for as many as 22 deaths. The jury returned verdicts of guilty on 12 murder counts and on one count of attempted murder.In August of 2024, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Office announced that Suff was linked to the murder of 19-year-old Cathy Ann Small. She was a resident of Lake Elsinore whose body was found in 1986. Cathy Small was a sex worker in February 1986, when she was killed. Small told her roommate she was meeting a man named Bill who would give her $50 to drive with him from Lake Elsinore to Los Angeles. She was never seen alive after leaving with the man we now know as Bill Suff.
It has been 33 years but justice finally came for Cathy Small. In October 2019, a coroner investigator was checking out the death of a man just across the street from the scene of Small’s killing when he found in the man’s home several items that raised concern. Pictures of women who appeared to had been kidnapped and tortured. This prompted the authorities to check DNA on the victim thinking that the man who recently died was her killer. The road led to none other than William Lester Suff.
Reference
California serial killer on death row confessed to 1986 cold case homicide, authorities say (msn.com)DNA investigation links California serial killer to 1986 killing | Toronto Sun
William Suff - Wikipedia
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